Develop grassroots efforts advancing early childhood in your community with these tools and resources. Support our mission and reach the NAEYC audience through your advertisement, conference exhibit booth, or sponsorship. Stay current on all things related to your professional association, from book releases to policy updates. Join your professional membership association, explore local Affiliates, and access unbeatable member benefits. Contact us with your questions-- we're here to help! Photos: 1, © iStock; 2, courtesy of the authors, Lisa P. Kuh, PhD, is the director of early education for Somerville Public Schools, in Somerville, Massachusetts. Teachers have to balance planned anti-bias teaching experiences, such as mixing paint to match skin color, with seizing emergent opportunities to engage children by responding to their questions and observations. Â. Preschool teachers who use an anti-bias curriculum want all students to feel successful and empowered without being saddled with stereotypes or harmful comments. On their gallery walk panel, Lisa presents information from research about race so families can see how it connects to the work in the classroom. for an Anti-Bias Approach The four goals for an anti-bias approach are for children across all age groups. Again, documentation plays a part, as analysis of children’s conversations can help teachers choose what to respond to and how to respond. The anti-bias curriculum is an activist approach to educational curricula which attempts to challenge prejudices such as racism, sexism, ableism, ageism, weightism, homophobia, classism, colorism, heightism, handism, religious discrimination and other forms of kyriarchy.The approach is favoured by civil rights organisations such as the Anti-Defamation League. Ignite and fulfill your professional development goals! She gets an easier sheet than me!,” “Why does he get to use a rocking chair at meeting? Anti-bias teaching requires critical thinking and problem solving by both children and adults.” For example, an activity about skin color, such as mixing paints to find children's individual skin colors, can be included in the frequently used curriculum theme of "I'm Me; I'm Special!" Children also dramatize the Rosa Parks story to talk about White and Black as terms attributed to whole groups of people who really aren’t that exact color, and they discuss the exclusionary practices associated with those terms. Teachers at the Eliot-Pearson Children’s School regularly use documentation to make learning visible to children, families, and school visitors (Rinaldi 2006). Children tell us every day via their comments, play, and peer interactions that they notice social issues, are curious about differences, and want more information. Bullying & Bias. Lisa’s Pre-K ClassFor sharing time, 4-year-old Julian, who is biracial, shows photographs of an experiment he did at home in which he added cream to his mother’s coffee to try to match the color of his own skin. Anti-Bias Curriculum: Tools For Empowering Young Children is not a recipe book. These comments, while typical of young children, can stop a teacher in her tracks. Introduce anti-bias education with some music from around the world. New York: Teachers College Press; Washington, DC: NAEYC. The YWCA Minneapolis Early Childhood Education's anti-bias, play-based curriculum is a framework that can be used with any other curriculum. anti-bias perspective is integral to all aspects of daily classroom life. The Eliot-Pearson Children’s School’s long-standing commitment to anti-bias education is part of its core values and mission. Preschool teachers who use an anti-bias curriculum want all students to feel successful and empowered without being saddled with stereotypes or harmful comments. In doing so, the children move beyond the novelty of color mixing to focus on systematically producing a color close to their own skin. It is important to note that throughout this exploration of anti-bias topics, the teachers at the Eliot-Pearson Children’s School had some key structures in place that were vital to their ability to sustain the hard work of reflective teaching, especially as related to potentially controversial topics. Medford, MA: Eliot-Pearson Children’s School, Tufts University. Teachers shared their thinking with families and colleagues, learning about the values they thought were important. Each lesson plan in Anti-Bias Building Blocks has a core activity for young children, writing activities, children’s literature suggestions and fits within English Language Arts (ELA) curriculum. Curriculum should be about actively exploring a topic with each other. She was also a long-time director/lecturer at the Eliot-Pearson Children’s School at Tufts University. Become an organizational or corporate partner to inspire early childhood education at the local and national level. Early Childhood Education Series. Anti-bias curriculum topics often come from the children, families, and teachers, as well as from historical or current events. As they revisit the book, they reflect on the idea that everyone has things they are great at and things they are working on. important in a child's life. Edwards. Would a particular child with obvious physical differences be able to participate in the conversation, or would classmates see him as a mascot for inclusion rather than an equal member of the class? An anti-bias curriculum aims to give all preschoolers a sense of belonging while nurturing respect for diversity. How do our own class backgrounds affect perceptions of children, and how might our backgrounds equip us, or not, to support the children as they expand their understanding of these ideas?”. Become a leader in your professional association. ... and suggested activities for talking to students in various grade levels about issues of bias and bigotry. Rather, messages about bias and anti-bias are everywhere, everyday. Does all this belong in the early education setting? Format: Group Presentation Age: 2.5 – 6 years old Materials Needed: Various types of flower to make a bouquet, vase or ribbon to tie Aim: To introduce children to differences and similarities of various flowers.To identify the beauty in each flower’s uniqueness and the beauty of the flowers coming together in a bouquet. Is it part of teaching? Though our ideas and beliefs may differ, it is still our job to negotiate through these.”. Teachers can take photographs, listen to and record conversations, and observe and videotape children’s play. It is equally satisfying to teachers to have taken a risk and stretched our own learning as a means to provide a deeper and more inclusive education for all. To hold themselves accountable for anti-bias work, the program’s teachers developed a tool for keeping anti-bias issues alive in the curriculum (see “Framework for Anti-Bias Teaching,” p. 59). Check out these teacher-tested classroom and family-friendly activities for great activities and lessons that address bias and racism. Anti-bias education involves creating a community that supports all dimensions of human differences, including culture, race, language, ability, learning styles, ethnicity, family structure, religion, sexual orientation, gender, age, and socioeconomic differences. Teachers may not necessarily know who to talk to about their feelings, and often this is where they get stuck. Enhance your career and improve your knowledge, skills, and practices with our in-person and online training. The work of three of this article’s coauthors—Lisa (pre-K), Heidi (kindergarten), and Margaret (mixed-age first and second grade)—illustrates curriculum development prompted by the framework and support for anti-bias work for individual teachers and for the school as a whole. Children and teachers spend two meetings telling stories about times when these phrases were used to assert power over others. Children share their diverse abilities with each other by writing comments on sticky notes in response to each other’s pages in the classroom book. Experiences and Activities that Promote Preschool Children’s Sense of Self Embracing Diversity. Margaret notes how children are able to take more academic risks and how she differentiates tasks in heterogeneous skill groups more flexibly, often referencing the classroom book when differences arise. It’s mine,” “I have the [toy], so I have to be the boss,” and “We should have a rule that the person who has a thing decides the rules for the thing.” Heidi talks to the children about these phrases. The documentation process involves raising questions and closely documenting children’s experiences. It is the key to eliminating bullying and the only way to end war forever. However, being intentional about anti-bias education across classrooms wasn’t always easy. She is an adjunct professor at Lesley University, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and was an assistant professor at the University of New Hampshire, as well as a teacher, lecturer, and researcher at the Eliot-Pearson Children’s School and Department of Child Development at Tufts University. lisakuh@gmail.com, Debbie LeeKeenan, MEd, is an early childhood consultant and lecturer (www.antibiasleadersece.com) in Seattle, Washington. It uses an anti-bias lens that focuses and builds children’s awareness from self to friend to neighborhood and community. email facebook Instagram twitter Google Classroom pinterest Topic. Find a sponsorship opportunity that’s right for you and help support early childhood educators, parents, and other professionals. When I’ve talked to other teachers about revising curriculum for bias, I often encounter one of two ways that people think about this: 1. Margaret and the children create a classroom book documenting these conversations with visitors. Once the teachers at Eliot-Pearson considered entry points that identified areas of interest to the children and acknowledged their own feelings, they got down to the business of thinking about potential next steps. Discuss w… Critical Practices for Anti-bias Education is organized into four sections: Instruction, Classroom Culture, Family and Community Engagement, and Teacher Leadership. 2011). Ask them to describe it. Derman-Sparks, L., & J.O. A former student with vision impairment engages the children using humor by animating his voice as he tells a story. School Reform Initiative. With anti-bias curriculum, these guided experiences might occur by simply mixing various colors of paint before beginning to explore skin colors. Play songs from different countries and try to find a few instruments from the different songs that they’re not familiar with. The Teaching Tolerance website is a comprehensive resource for educators, serving as clearinghouse for information on anti-bias programs and activities for use in schools. Teachers have to balance planned anti-bias teaching experiences, such as mixing paint to match skin color, with seizing emergent opportunities to engage children by responding to their questions and observations. This is a private ramp,” and “You can go up any ramp, if you have a lot of money. Margaret worries that by exploring and discussing abilities, children will feel singled out by their differences. An entry point may be something a family brings to a teacher’s attention or something a teacher knows about a family that a child brings to the setting. Anti-Bias Curriculum Anti-bias education is based on Paulo Freire’s notion of the “practice of freedom” which is “the means by which men and women deal critically and creatively with reality and discover how to participate in the transformation of their world” (Freire, 2000, p. 34). It is important for teachers to find a balance between addressing children’s needs and not upsetting families, and at the same time to take a stand that may be socially or politically charged. Newsletters, parent meetings, and individual confere… Teaching for Change says that, “Anti-bias curriculum is an approach to early childhood education that sets forth values-based principles and methodology in support of respecting and embracing differences and acting against bias and unfairness. Teachers choose curriculum changes to implement in the moment and through long-term planning. Heidi then presents a provocation: “Should we use the words we talked about at meeting when we use the bikes?” The children immediately chorus, “No, no. In the butterfly example (from the opening page), teachers might give children opportunities to explore with magnifying glasses and clipboards before heading out into the garden. Anti-bias education is a way of teaching that supports children and their families as they develop a sense of identity in a diverse society. Margaret’s First- and Second-Grade ClassOver the course of two months, Margaret invites visitors into the mixed-age classroom to teach and share information about many kinds of ability differences. Anti-Bias Framework. The following structures were included: Working through the movements of the framework can bring up feelings of discomfort and move teachers to question which topics are introduced and how they are covered in their teaching practices. Learn about and purchase the best books and resources to support young children's learning and development. To effectively implement an anti-bias approach that culti-vates the four goals in children’s development, we need to cultivate them in our own development as well. As a result, the teachers think about ways to broaden and clarify skin color vocabulary before starting any skin color paint mixing. © National Association for the Education of Young Children, Eliot-Pearson Children’s School: Building an Inclusive Community and Pursuing Social Justice, Our Proud Heritage: Abigail Eliot and Margaret McMillan—Bringing the Nursery School to the United States. But when it comes to talking about race, class, gender, family structure, or ability, teachers might consciously, or even unconsciously, avoid elaborating on these topics. Explore jobs in the Career Center and find higher education and professional development opportunities. How should teachers respond? Heidi’s Kindergarten ClassThe long-term planning time and subsequent use of the sign-up sheet enable kindergartners to plan for using classroom and school resources and to express and negotiate roles, story lines, and connections rather than arguing over who gets a turn and who gets to control the play. Contesting Early Childhood series. In the responding phase, teachers plan and implement intentional, specific experiences. Margaret’s First- and Second-Grade ClassIn this mixed-age inclusive class, teachers hear children saying things like “That’s not fair! Turn the activity into a multicultural freeze dance to make it more fun for the kids. AUSD's Anti-Bias History Anti-Bullying Curriculum Achievement & Assessment Career Technical Education (CTE) ... Anti-Bias Lesson Plans. They can continue to bring questions to colleagues, using the documentation to ask questions such as “What are these children working on and why?” and “What can I do in my classroom to support children’s exploration and understanding of this topic?”, Initially, the kindergarten teaching team was stuck—unsure about how to explore ideas of possession and power with children this young. Revising for bias … Doing this work was not always easy, but it was rich, it shifted practice, and ultimately it was satisfying. Learn about NAEYC’s informed positions on significant issues affecting young children’s education and development. For example, Heidi felt overwhelmed and dismayed at the play she observed, based on her own class background. They point to each other’s clothing, noting that someone has white pants or a black shirt. An anti-bias preschool curriculum is one that seeks to acknowledge and challenge prejudices in education and works to remove them from the teaching and learning environment. They’re not fair.” Over the next three weeks, kindergartners debate and develop a plan for sharing the bikes and wagons, which includes having a sign-up sheet for sharing vehicles and considering the needs of preschoolers, who are often passengers. Would asking students to admit that they are challenged by some assignments be comfortable or productive? If you can, gather wigs, scarves, rubb… Entry points include identifying, provoking, or uncovering themes children are thinking about or demonstrating in their play. 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